Recruiting men

"Wait outside."

The Hung Lok Society's membership register, account books, and money were hidden in an apartment with iron bars over all the windows.

Inside, it looked like an ordinary home, with furniture, a sofa, and decor from more than a decade ago, though it was fairly clean.

Someone clearly came here often.

Ah Tung opened a cabinet and hauled out two bulging travel bags. When he unzipped them, the cash inside nearly dazzled him.

Even Ah Tung's breathing quickened.

Few people could stay calm in the face of that much money.

Before they started following GS, Ah Tung and the others had been nothing but bottom-rung punks.

GS took bundle after bundle from a bag and tossed them to Ah Tung. His breathing grew faster as he scrambled to catch the money.

But GS kept tossing bundles into his arms until they began tumbling to the floor.

Fifty bundles meant five hundred thousand.

Ah Tung almost stopped breathing. He had no idea what GS meant by this.

"You boys did a lot this time. Good work. Take this and split it up. Stop acting like you've never seen money before. Once you've got your own establishments, you'll be pulling in hundreds of thousands, even a million a month!" GS chided them with a grin.

"Thanks, Brother S!" Ah Tung hurriedly thanked him, suddenly feeling a little moved.

It wasn't just the money. No one had ever shown them they could have a future before.

GS gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.

If he was going to keep men under him, he had to pay them well.

Otherwise, who would risk their lives for him?

GS glanced through the membership register and account books, then tossed them into a bag. After making sure nothing else had been left behind, the two of them left.

Ah Tung opened the car door and tossed the five hundred thousand GS had given him to Ah Bo.

Ah Bo and the others jumped when they saw the bag was full of money.

"It's from Brother S," Ah Tung said.

"Thanks, Brother S!" they shouted, their faces wild with delight.

They were already thinking about buying cars and watches, then booking out a nightclub.

"Brother S, are we going to the stash house?"

"Let's take a look. Can't let someone make off with the goods," GS said after a moment's thought.

He didn't touch the stuff himself, but that didn't mean it was useless.

The Pager at GS's waist had been vibrating nonstop for a while. He didn't need to look to know who was calling.

"Has Big-Eyed Hua called?" GS asked.

"Someone called earlier, but we didn't answer." Mantis and the others still hadn't come down from their excitement.

As soon as he said it, the mobile phone rang again.

"Brother S, we've scattered Hung Lok's men and taken most of their turf. What do we do next?" Big-Eyed Hua's voice came over the phone.

"Send the wounded to the hospital. Anyone who's fine stays there and holds the place. I'll be over in a bit. Watch out for a Hung Lok counterattack."

"Got it, Brother S."

GS asked another question. "Did you catch Concrete and Bodyguard Hua?"

"No, they got away."

"Doesn't matter. They won't be able to cause much trouble now," GS said after thinking it over.

With so many of their men dead or injured, and their turf and the society's businesses gone, who would still follow them?

If those two knew what was good for them, they'd take whatever assets they had left overseas and start a business or something. They might still enjoy a peaceful old age.

If they didn't, Stanley Prison would welcome talented men like them.

Before long, they reached the stash house on the fifth floor of an apartment complex. Three men were inside, all Gentleman Sing's trusted confidants.

The three were drinking in the room when they heard urgent pounding on the door, along with an anxious voice.

"Piglet Wing, open up!"

"Who is it?" All three immediately went on alert. One grabbed a knife from beside him, while another went into the inner room.

"The cops arrested Brother Sing. He told me to tell you to move everything to another stash house right away."

The three men were shocked. A tall, burly man opened the door, but before he could speak, a foot slammed straight into his crotch.

Then the man outside grabbed his head, leaped up, and drove a knee into it.

Bang!

"Fuck!" Another man slashed at him without a second thought. GS retreated two steps into the hallway, and Ah Bo seized the opening to rush in and stab the man in the shoulder.

Mantis and Ah Yong charged in right behind him. Within moments, they had stabbed and subdued both men inside.

GS entered the inner room and saw two suitcases on the floor. One had fallen open, revealing a jumble of No. 4 Drug packets stuffed inside.

GS made a rough estimate. Each suitcase held about fifteen kilos, so the two together contained around thirty.

"Fuck. Bastards!" GS cursed.

Those two cases of goods were worth over ten million.

Half of Hung Lok's capital was tied up in this stuff.

"Take them away." GS walked around the room without touching a single thing inside.

Before long, GS arrived at a two-story building. This was Hung Lok's headquarters, and now it belonged to him.

He even had the property deed. It had been kept in the same place as the account books and membership register.

More than two hundred underlings stood by the roadside, bragging to one another, excitement written all over their faces.

When they saw GS get out of the car, they all straightened up.

"Brother S!"

It made quite an impressive show.

"Those who led the teams, come inside with me."

GS went in, found somewhere to sit, and asked, "What are the casualties?"

"Over thirty of our men were wounded. A few had their hands cut off, and seven died." Big-Eyed Hua and the others looked fairly calm.

That was life in the underworld. Any day could be the day you died on the street.

"They can still use their hands once they're reattached. At least they'll be able to jerk off. They don't need to worry about medical bills. Once they're discharged, I'll find work for them. They won't go hungry."

"And pay the families of the dead double the full death benefit. I said it before, and I'll keep my word."

"Thanks, Brother S!" Big-Eyed Hua and the others said loudly.

Only with a boss like this could they work without worrying.

Some heartless bosses pocketed even the death benefits, never mind paying medical bills.

Some simply threw men out after injuries like severed hands or feet. It wasn't as though they'd never heard of such things.

So the moment GS spoke, smiles appeared on their faces.

If nothing else, they could now give the others an answer.

They weren't afraid of men dying on the job. They were afraid of having no answer for the men under them.

GS dragged over a travel bag, unzipped it, and emptied it onto the floor.

Bundles of banknotes tumbled out into a heap, making the others breathe a little faster.

"You did well today. Good work deserves a reward. Have the men line up. Three thousand each. Hand it out now," GS said bluntly.

A little later, the underlings outside came in one by one to collect their money. The sight of all those bundles on the floor made more than a few eyes burn with desire.

"Want more? Work hard and climb the ranks! Then you'll have more money than you can spend. Good food, good booze, nightclubs every day!" GS said with a grin.

The underlings immediately broke into laughter.

Each man called out after receiving his money, "Thanks, Brother S!"

By the time the money had all been handed out, everyone's morale was soaring. They wouldn't have been afraid even if Hung Lok's men came charging back.

GS then tossed one bundle each to the men who had led teams that night.

"These are yours!"

"Thanks, Brother S."

They were all low-level gangsters, but some had more prestige and popularity than others. Those were the men who led the teams.

They normally earned a little more, and got a little extra whenever money was handed out.

GS had once been one of them.

But Ah Sin hadn't been nearly as generous as GS. Back then, GS had only received a few hundred extra a month.

"Yours." GS took out a hundred thousand and tossed it to Big-Eyed Hua.

"Thanks, Brother S." Big-Eyed Hua was beaming too.

"We've taken Hung Lok's turf outright. I'm not too worried about their men coming back, but we need to watch out for the other gangs. We don't have enough men right now. Keep recruiting."

"Don't worry, Brother S. I'll spread the word all over Yuen Long tomorrow."

They had wiped out Hung Lok in a single night, and GS was this generous with his money. Once word got out, who knew how many people would want to follow him?

"Brother S, where to now?"

"Take me home. Then find somewhere to dispose of these men."

When he got home, he found Kong Sang curled up asleep on the sofa.

The television was still on, but the broadcasts had long since ended. The screen showed nothing but static.

The sound of the door opening woke Kong Sang. She got up and came over. "Is everything done?"

She didn't know the details, but she knew GS had something to take care of today.

After all, quite a few of the people at the shop were GS's underlings, and she'd overheard them talking.

"It's done." GS casually tossed the travel bag onto the floor.

"I was so worried about you!" Kong Sang hugged him tightly.

"What were you worried about? I'm such a badass, who on Hong Kong Island could do anything to me?" GS scoffed.

"All right, go to bed first. I need to make a call."